Tuesday, 13 March 2012

A behind the scenes look at Gosa HQ

What do we do when we’re not following the Gosa gang through
the Kalahari? Well, we do manly things such as cook, clean, do laundry and
sweep out all the Kalahari sand that makes its way into our room! I invite you
to sit back, relax, and let me take you on a virtual tour of the Gosa Crew HQ.

Our headquarters is a large room split in two by a low wall
and contained within in a staff compound about 15mins from the nearest lodge.
One side of the room is used as the general bedroom where all manner of sounds
and smells are produced over the course of the night. The other side of the
room is houses our tech storage area, work desk, and kitchen area; an odd
combination, but one that allows you to clean the dishes whilst hopping around
to a few songs by The Beetles. The room is big enough for the three of us and
none of us feel as if we need more space. The bathroom leads off from the
kitchen where the fridges are placed but this needs no real description as it’s
just a bathroom and is nothing short of a dull topic.

Most of our cooking is done inside but every now and then
we’ll light a fire and cook some meat or chicken in the outdoor cooking area
known as the Boma (Bow-ma). This is a delightful little area where scorpions
abound and one can sit back with an ice-cold beer and watch the meat sizzle
away to the tune of conversations over meerkats, land rovers, meerkats, stars
and other meerkat related subjects.

Our laundry room is located around the back of the compound
and is very spacious indeed…mainly because it has one washing machine shoved
into the far corner of the room. Are they worried that someone is going to have
a claustrophobic attack while trying to find their missing sock? Seriously, you
could park two Minis side-by-side in this room and still be able to fit in a
small squad of belly-dancers. Why such a big room has been given to a single
token-driven top-loading washing machine which takes ages to complete one load is
far, far beyond my own level of cognisance.
The laundry room and washing line area also play host to a family of
Ground squirrels and a young rock monitor who can often be seen hanging on the
wall sunning himself in the mornings.

Ah! Now we come to the backyard. A small jungle in its own right,
this is a mish-mash of Kalahari plants and Uncle Pete’s orchard. Random fig
trees and orange trees sprout up here and there with the centre of attraction
being a medium-sized reservoir whose purpose is currently unknown. Hundreds of
whirlygigs cruise the surface of the reservoir like crazed powerboats at a
booze-up in the Cannes while mosquitoes breed in its dark green waters. Luckily
management has been smart enough to ‘install’ a small school of Kilifish to
curb the level of mosquito larvae residing under the surface, although I have
evidence proving that a few mosquitoes still make it out alive.

Last but not least there is the Garage. The Ganda cave.
Obviously this is the area where all vehicles are parked and the Ganda often
shares the company of a few service vehicles or game drive cruisers belonging
to other staff members residing in our compound. The garage is not very
impressive or interesting save for one or two psychological NO-GO areas. These
are places or back rooms which are ideal for snakes as they are cool and have a
lot of old rubbish in which a cobra could easily move into to keep out of the
Kalahari heat. No thanks, I want to see my 26th birthday!

And that’s it. That’s my home away from home for the next
few months. Nothing special, but I have all I need and as an added bonus I’ve
got 360ᵒ
of pure Kalahari bush containing all manner of 2, 4 and 6 legged creatures to
keep me on my toes!

Rob’s song for the
day: Everybody’s got something to hide except me and my monkey – The
Beatles